SEEING AMERICA FROM THE "SHENANDOAH"
lighter-than-air curriculum, as illustrat
ing the danger of grasping airship guy
ropes without holding the motion open
for immediate reconsideration.
FLYING OVER NEW JERSEY, PENNSYL
VANIA, AND DELAWARE
As the Shenandoahleft her home moor
ing mast at Lakehurst, io a. m., October
7, she described a broad circle with a
5-mile radius, until the altimeter on her
"bridge" showed 1,300 feet. That was
the level above the sea, and in New Jer
sey it meant practically the same above the
ground. A few days later, when the same
altimeter registered 7,300 feet, going
through the Rocky Mountains, she was
only a few hundred feet above the bot
tom of the canyon and the menacing peaks
on either side were above her.
Jersey, with its little lakes and big
hotels, patches of fertile farms and smoky
cities, miles of stunted pine and cranberry
bogs, was left behind when the Delaware
River, opposite Chester, Pennsylvania,
was reached at I :25. The Shenandoah
followed the river, her shadow trailing
below like a big fish on its surface, until
Wilmington, Delaware, was passed, 20
minutes later. Baltimore was below at
I:37p. m.
Going 55 miles an hour, the start and
finish of a race at Laurel were seen from
a safe altitude of 3,000 feet. An escort
of airplanes came out from Washington,
the ship passed between the Monument
and the White House at 2:1o, and the
District of Columbia was crossed in Io
minutes (see page 9).
TIHE EARTH SEEMED COVERED WITH RUGS
AND CARPETS
As she sailed along over the low, rolling
hills of Virginia, straight into a fire-red
sun whose last rays were tinting the tops
of the forests in gay autumn hues of red
and yellow, the first purple haze of eve
ning had fallen on the streaked brown
fields and green pastures in the valleys.
From the skies the undulating earth
seemed covered with carpets in drab and
green and rugs of bright colors, cut into
squares and strange shapes and marked
with strings of white, which were high
ways.
Darkness fell below while the sun still
was striking through the windows of the
navigating gondola. The ship was over
Orange, Virginia, at 3:59 p. m.,
Char
lottesville at 4:35, Esmont at 5, Norwood
at 5:30, and Lynchburg at 6:20. Dan
ville, Virginia, was below at 8:Io, and a
few minutes later the Shenandoah was
sailing over North Carolina.
Under the moonlight, the tree-covered
earth, with an occasional light which
twinkled and disappeared, lay black and
mysterious below. Several aboard had
drifted over that country in balloons and
had memories of rifles which spat from
below and bullets which punctured gas
bags. One balloon had returned to its
station with 17 holes. Possibly residents
in those lonesome hills were suspicious
of spies from the sky, looking for moon
shine stills which were inaccessible to
revenue agents below.
In the silent night the hum of the
Shenandoah, as she passed high in the
air, could be heard for miles, but no
hostile bullets greeted her.
FEW LIGHTS GLOW ON THE SHIP AT NIGHT
Greensboro was an electric cluster in a
black setting at 9:20 p. m., High Point
was 1,ooo feet below at 9:55, a dozen
colored flares burning in a greeting which
was easily understood, and Salisbury fol
lowed an hour later with a salvo of loco
motive whistles from Spencer into town,
dimly echoing to the ship. Gastonia,
North Carolina, was a fading glow at
12:37 a. m., October 8, and at I:27 Gaff
ney, South Carolina, was directly below.
In the navigating gondola the electric
light over the chart table was flashed on
only to glance at a map or make an entry
in the log. A faint glow came from the
little bulbs behind the spirit levels and
compass.
White running lights were on the for
ward and aft gondolas, green lights on
the two starboard cars, and red on the
two on the port side. Within, all was
dark, except for a moment on the bridge
or for the glow from electric torches in
the long tunnel in the keel, as men passed
back and forth, changing watch in the
engine cars, measuring fuel tanks, in
specting motors and gas bags, and per
forming other tasks which required con
stant vigilance.
The ship is not wired for lights. Only
those in the navigating room, in the radio